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USM Valor
The USM Valor was a destroyerNo Known Survivors: No Known Survivors#Chapter 2: Thirteen in the Earth Defense Force navy and was captained by Commander F. Cadigan. Service Record The Valor is first mentioned in the preceding level, after Isaac managed to realign the communications array of the Ishimura. In their broadcast, the radioman of the Valor mentions picking up one of the Ishimura's escape pods. This pod had a Necromorph aboard, which, despite the valiant fight of the Marines aboard, eventually led to the Valor crashing into the Ishimura. The Valor is seen in full after Isaac killed The Slug camping atop the Communications Array, while Isaac is still seated in the Cannon Pit. It is of large size, although reasonably smaller than the Ishimura. Inside, it has a barracks, an infirmary, a firing range, engine room and is dotted with numerous propaganda posters. It also has a singularity core that is completely compatible with the Ishimura's shuttles and the same weapons, ammo, rigs, lockers and etc., suggesting that the Valor and The Ishimura were built around the same time period, along with being a convenient gameplay conceit (though it is stated that the Ishimura is constantly updated with modern technology). Isaac is unable to avert the crash with ADS Cannon 47, no matter how much he fires upon the USM Valor. The Second Aegis 7 Incident Isaac Clarke boarded the Valor to retrieve a singularity core to power a shuttle to escape; unfortunately, in the process, Zach Hammond was killed by an Enhanced Brute (who rips his leg off and throws him through a glass screen) and the Valor's engine destabilizes and explodes, causing irreversible damage to the Ishimura. Internal Structure Armory A large long room containing a Bench and several long weapons lockers containing Pulse Rifles and ammunition. the lockers are sealed shut, as such you cannot obtain any of the Rifles. Though the Valor seemed to only stock Pulse Rifles it is possible that the lockers could contain other ordnance such as Divet and supplies like Stasis Packs. Although unseen it is likely that the Armory had a workshop where the Valor's Marines could get their weapons and Armor repaired and modified. There is a locked door on the far side of the Armory that could likely have led to the workshop. A small subsection of the area contained the Shooting Gallery activity. Shooting Gallery The Shooting Gallery is a subsection of the Valor's Armory where off-duty marines could practice their accuracy and shooting skills on holographic human sized targets. Hitting all of the red targets and none of the blue targets earns the player points, the amount of total points possible to score increases with each level. If the shooter is able to hit all red targets without any "friendly fire" he is rewarded with a useful item, such as ammunition, med packs, Semiconductors, and on the fifth level, a Power Node. This suggests a reward system for individual marines who show skill. Barracks A long room (among the longest in the ship) lined with personnel bunks on both sides where the Valor's Marines and custodial crew slept. The pesonal bunks appear slightly smaller that the crew bunks on the Ishimura, but appear to have drawers and cabinets on the walls for storing personal items. In between the two rows of bunks were walkpaths and columns with supply cabinets and E.D.F. propaganda posters. On the far side of the barracks is a store for the soldiers to use and a ship administrations office. Looking inside of one of the bunks can show items such as notes, letters, and photos. This suggests an allowance of personal decoration and keepsakes for the ship's Marines. Presumably before the Second Aegis Incident the barracks were likely the center of the ship, where marines could converse and socialize. Cargo Bay The Storehouse of the Valor, likely somewhere in the center or back end of the Destroyer. It was the Storage center for the ship and it's marine and custodial complement, the storage for it's supplies of water, fuel, ammunition, field rations, weapons, oxygen supplies, stasis Packs, medical supplies, and possible other objects such as landing craft, Lancet missiles, and mass rounds. During Wartime, the Bay could be used to drop in field equipment such as Ground Vehicles and Prefabricated Bases to battlefields. Engine A very large two level room containing the Valor's medium size SubSpace Engines. It is divided into two sections, The Drive Deck, a dangerous deck that is dominated by the ship's ShockPoint Drive and Engine Reflux Tubes. and the Actual Engine Room where the ship's propulsion systems function; this room is also very dangerous as all the engine mounts are "Ray Shielded" with a deadly field of violent red energy waves. The purpose of these "shields" are uncertain although the most likely reasoning would be as a way to make sure the engine radiation is kept in and cataclysmic objects out. As such these shields must be lowered before you can enter the engine room by destroying all the power circuits on the Drive Deck. Infirmary A medium sized room used as the sickbay/operating room for the Marines and other personnel. It was equipped with multiple patient beds, scanning and medical equipment, and a variety of surgical tools, most notably a large laser cutter/cauterizer that has malfunctioned causing it to spin erratically and cut down anything that comes within reach. Interestingly this room is relatively devoid of Med Packs (Possibly already scavenged by surviving Marines). Torpedo Room The torpedo room aboard the Valor was of medium length and housed two large tube like structures, presumably the torpedo tubes. When Isaac enters the room the tubes are seen crushed on the far ends and spewing fire. Across the room a vent can be seen boarded up, opening to fact that the marines knew the Necromorphs were using the vents. On a video screen Nicole Brennan pops up and says one of her creepy messages, pondering to some how did she get on the vid system for the Valor, or could just be another hallucination. Ammo can be seen scattered on the ground and torpedoes lay near the launch tubes. Armaments The Valor was armed with nuclear weaponry, one of which broke open when the Valor crashed into the Ishimura. Due to a safety lock engaging because of the radiation hazard this posed, Isaac had to get rid of the nuclear debris before he could enter via one of the Valor's airlocks. In addition to the armaments of the ship itself (which may also included small attack craft, judging by some concept art), the marines aboard the Valor had access to a wide variety of military-grade versions of the standard tools located aboard the USG Ishimura and on Aegis VII. Given the presence of C.E.C.-branded containers aboard the USM Valor and ammunition for Isaac's arsenal, it is entirely plausible that the C.E.C. is a defense contractor, providing weaponized versions of it's standard mining tools for military use; or alternatively, that the Valor has such tools aboard as part of its ship-boarding procedures. Personnel According to a vessel manifest scan on a console in Chapter 3 of "Thirteen", part 2 of No Known Survivors, the Valor has a total of 67 people aboard: 23 crew members; 3 service personnel; 2 custodial personnel; 1 "Extension/Familial" personnel, probably a wife or girlfriend of one of the crew, who lives on the ship with them but performs no real duties; and 38 personnel in the "Other" category, most likely Marines. The barracks on the Valor, however, has 78 bunks in it, indicating that perhaps the ship was a bit undermanned, thus making it more feasible that a single Slasher could have overwhelmed the crew and sabotaged the ship's systems. Marine Complement The Marines aboard have partly been turned into necromorphs, although Isaac does encounter 3 non-infected Marines, one who dies shortly after he is encountered due to his right leg being severed, one who is pinned to the ceiling by a damaged gravity panel, and one Marine who runs through a door that locks shortly after, as well as dozens of non-infected bodies (suggesting they died in the crash), but due to the fact that Marines have stasis modules in their Advanced Soldier RIGs, they are able to move many times the speed normal Necromorphs can, and are referred to as Twitchers. The Marines on board wear Advanced Soldier RIGs (or a lighter variation of it) and carry Pulse Rifles. Controversy NOTE: Please discuss the controversy in the discussion section. Please leave the article alone. Any edits to show personal viewpoints will be deleted. There is much controversy in the Dead Space community over the infection of the Valor. Controversy includes: * Q: How was the Valor crew infected if there wasn't an Infector aboard to infect the corpses (a log found on the Valor has the captain confirming the presence of multiple hostiles)? Theories: :* There is another vector to corpse infection besides Infectors. :* In conjunction with the above theory and like the bodies on Aegis VII, it is not necessary for an Infector to make Necromorphs, the presence of the necrotic flesh from the Slasher would enter the air system and turn any unprotected body into a Necromorph over time. This is supported by how Aegis VII got infected and the fact that Infectors create Advanced Slashers. :* While Isaac is aboard the USM Valor, two Infectors ambush him. This may suggest that some Necromorphs were able to enter the USM Valor through another airlock (as it is mentioned in the previous mission that Hammond had to find an alternate route to get into the Valor). :* In conjunction with the above theory, Necromorph Infectors could have boarded the Valor from space. :* During Isaac's arrival to the Captain's Nest, he is surprised by a Slasher in an unreleased escape pod. The pod is immediately launched into space. Later after fixing the comm relay, the USM Valor contacts USG Ishimura saying that they picked up an escape pod. Maybe the pod had more than just a Slasher in it. :* The corpses were infected after the crash. * Q: How did an entire ship of Marines fail at killing a Slasher when one Engineer could kill an entire ship full of necromorphs, especially since the Marines knew about the alien threat? Theories: :* The Marines weren't aware of the essential task of dismemberment, which is the only way to kill Necromorphs very quickly. :* While the Marines knew of the alien threat, they did not know the escape pod would contain a creature and were caught unprepared. :* In conjunction with the above theory on dismemberment, it is possible that the marines were armed with pulse rifles which have a low dismemberment ability. :* The Slasher managed to sabotage systems aboard the Valor, causing it to crash. :* The escape pod docked close to the command bridge, allowing the Necromorph to head to the command bridge with little to no resistance, where it then sabotaged the systems, causing the crash. The Marines may have been in their barracks until a few moments before impact. :* The Slasher could have simply avoided the Valor's crew, and then ambushed the bridge operator. :* It's also possible that when the escape pod was retrieved, the crew that opened it were not Marines, allowing the Slasher to quickly kill and infect a number of the unprepared crew before the Marines had a chance to arm themselves and counter the threat. :* They were possibly just rookies with little combat experience. :* It is possible the Slasher killed the majority of the unarmed crew, and the crash killed most of the Marines as they prepared a counterattack. :* The Necromorphs sucked into space at the end of Dead Space: Downfall could have been accidentally picked up by the Valor. :* There was a Unitologist saboteur on board, which would explain the graffiti. :* It was possible they expected a conventional disease, not the Necromorphs. :* The Marines that were stationed at the escape pod, most likely not many, were quickly overrun by an unexpected enemy. The rest of the crew had no time to arm themselves, and shared in the Ishimura's fate. Trivia *The USM logo seen throughout the ship includes the Kanji character 天(tian), meaning heaven or sky. *The vessel's Singularity Core, shaped like an inverted Flux Capacitor, might possibly be a developer's in-joke. *While the "US" in "USM" is still unclear, the M may stand for Military, as the civilian ships Ishimura and USG Kellion are both named "USG". Many fans have come to belive USM stands for U'nited '''S'pace 'M'arine or 'M'ilitary, 'but this is still unclear. When on board the ''USM Valor, if you look at the top left or right on a door, you can see the USM Valor logo. *Strangely, some Unitologist Grafitti can be seen aboard the Valor, reinforcing the theory that Isaac may be hallucinating some, or even all of these writings. *The logo of the USM Valor can first be seen in Chapter 5: Lethal Devotion, when mixing the alien DNA sample with the poison. In the same room where you mix the sample with the poison, look to the left of the console. Underneath the shelf with the heads, you will find a desk with a blue book on it, called "Field Medicine" with the Valor's logo on the cover. *The Valor's logo is seen on the left chest plate of the Advanced Soldier RIG. *It's possible that the Valor was supposed to support or evacuate Kendra Daniels on her mission, which would also support the theory that she was an EDF operative. This also explains why they stopped to pick up an escape pod, rather than simply destoying it. *The collision with the Ishimura might have been a last ditch attempt to destroy the ship with its necromorph infestation, as it is unlikely that the ships would collide purely by chance. *It's possible that the Valor's logo is simply the USM's logo, as containers aboard the Ishimura have the CEC symbol. *If, while in the ADS Cannon you shoot in the incoming Valor, it will dispach a few yellow reflections, starting from the shot's point and propagating trough the entire ship's hull. That indicates the presence of a defence shield for vessel to vessel combat. *Valor's ship symbol looks like a Chinese Dragon and could relate to the Kanji letters around the ship. Gallery Image:Dead-space-20080729042424204_640w.jpg|Size comparison between the USG Ishimura, the USG Kellion, and the USM Valor(pre-release screenshot) File:Untitled543254.jpg|USM Valor's damaged warhead. File:-2052588406.jpg|The Valor's singularity core. File:Valorduderiglink.png|Valor crewmember talking via Isaac's RIGlink. Sources Category:Content Category:Spaceships